1. Introduction  6

2. Literature Review  7

3. Data and Sample  8

4. Measuring Competition and Stylized Facts  11

4.1 Markup Estimation – Production Function Approach  11

4.2 Markup-Adjusted Productivity Gap Estimation  12

4.3 Data Challenges Related to Estimation Methodologies  13

4.4 Stylized Facts  14

4.4.1 Market Power in ME&CA  14

4.4.2 Markup-Adjusted Productivity Gaps in ME&CA  18

4.4.3 Tariffs in ME&CA  20

4.4.4 Organization of the Market and Competition in ME&CA  21

5. Relationship between Policy Reforms, Competition, and Growth  23

5.1 How does Trade Protection and Institutional Reforms to Competition Policy affect Market Competition?  23

5.1.1 Empirical Strategy  23

5.1.2 Impact of Tariffs  23

5.1.3 Impact of Policy Implementation  26

5.2 Does Higher Competition Lead to Higher Productivity Growth?  29

5.2.1 Empirical Strategy  29

5.2.2 Competitive Pressure and Productivity Growth  30

5.3 Does Higher Competition Lead to Higher GDP Growth?  33

5.3.1 Empirical Strategy  33

5.3.2 Competitive Pressure and Productivity Growth  34

6. Conclusion  38